What happened to Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei?

Vladimir Makei was one of the most important political figures in Belarus next to Alexander Lukashenko. But the Belarusian Foreign Minister's sudden death after a visit with Russian officials in Armenia in November 2022 had many in the international speculating that he was killed by Vladimir Putin.

Whether or not Makei was killed by Putin is still up for debate. Here's a timeline of what happened and what was reported about the minister's untimely death.

Makei was the longest-serving Foreign Minister in Belarusian history and original reports from the country’s oldest newspaper Naša Niva claimed he died of a heart attack on November 26th.

"Vladimir Makei was at home in Drozdy when he had a heart attack,” the newspaper wrote, adding that “as far as it is known, he did not reach doctors in time because he did not take his condition seriously.”

The suspicious sudden demise of a Belarusian government official many political analysts have called pro-Western prompted a string of sensational headlines in the days following Makei’s death, all of which pointed to foul play. 

The Daily Mail claimed Makei was “poisoned in a Kremlin sting operation” while Yuras Karmanau of the Associated Press speculated that the Foreign Minister’s rapprochement with the West could have played a role in his death. 

"Makei has been a top associate of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for more than two decades,” Karmanau wrote. 

“Many analysts saw his diplomatic maneuvering as part of Lukashenko’s efforts to improve ties with the West, which were frozen after a brutal crackdown on protests that followed his 2020 re-election,” Karmanau added.

Speculation about Makei’s death now seemed warranted after Naša Niva revealed that the former Minister didn’t actually die of a heart attack but rather tragically by his own hand.

Citing four unrelated sources, Naša Niva said the probable cause of Makei’s death was that he took his own life and the newspaper gave readers some indication as to why. 

"The last years of the minister's life were accompanied by both political and personal dramas,” Naša Niva journalists wrote. 

“Makei's acquaintances say that he was painfully upset by the collapse of his position. Often felt unnecessary, and sometimes simply out of place,” the newspaper added. 

Naša Niva journalists went on to add that Makei was also suffering from problems at home and that the minister had lost some influence within Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, a situation that might have forced him to take his own life. 

“He has recently been denied personal attention, for him it is very noticeable,” one source told Naša Niva in reference to Makei’s waning influence with Lukashenko. 

“He understood that his former high position was coming to an end,” the source added. “And after his heights, he did not see himself anywhere else.”

Belarusian authorities refused to make the details of Makei’s end public in the days after his death according to the New York Post, a move that only increased speculation about what happened to the former Belarusian Foreign Minister. 

The New York Post added that Alexander Lukashenko was planning to replace Makei but they could not confirm whether that was his choice or one made for him in Moscow.